We cannot find quick and easy answers for Frequently Asked Questions; if we could, people wouldn’t keep asking them. That means that they’re worth looking at simply as a way of understanding why maybe these aren’t exactly the questions we need to be asking.
The question about baptizing ET usually brings a smile, but even though we can’t come up with any definitive answer – let’s wait until we meet them! – it’s a wonderful question if only because it makes us think about what baptism means, what redemption means, and what it means to be human… human, as compared to what?
Across the Universe: The Ethics of Extraterrestrials
- Article (blog post)
- 650 words
- General Audience
A Tablet column (and now a post on The Catholic Astronomer blog) by Vatican Observatory astronomer Br. Guy Consolmagno, S. J., reviewing a discussion of ETs and aliens that was held during a meeting of astrobiologists at NASA Ames.
Approaching “Would you baptize an alien?” from the perspective of a Jesuit astronomer
- Article (PDF)
- 5300 words
- General public
In November 1995, Fr. Christopher Corbally, S. J., an astronomer with the Vatican Observatory, presented the annual Nash lecture at Campion College. This is the published text of the lecture.
[Download PDF]
Corbally_NASH_Lecture1995
Talking science and God with Science Magazine
This link to an interview with Br. Guy Consolmagno explores some of the assumptions behind the question of baptism and Ets.
Continue reading →The Evolution of Intelligent Life on Earth and Possibly Elsewhere: Reflections from a Religious Tradition
- Article (PDF)
- 12 pages
- Academic / University and higher level
Fr. George V. Coyne, S. J., Director of the Vatican Observatory from 1978 to 2006, writes that given the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligences, “theologians must accept a serious responsibility to rethink some fundamental realities within the context of religious belief. What is the human being? Could Jesus Christ, fully a human being, exist on more than one planet at more than one time?”
A version of this article appeared in Many Worlds: The New Universe, Extraterrestrial Life, and the Theological Implications (Templeton, 2000).
[Download PDF]
ETs_Templet_Dick
Vatican space explorations
Article 1600 words General audiences A general overview of questions pertaining to space and the Vatican, from Our Sunday Visitor Newsweekly, 2009. Click here to access this article directly from Our Sunday Visitor. Vatican space explorations Study of astronomy reminds us of the beauty of the universe — and its Creator OSV Newsweekly Why does the starlit sky hold such a profound fascination for us? Perhaps because it is there that we encounter, commingled, the mystery of light and darkness — two primal experiences connected with the beginning and end of human life. Perhaps it comes from seeing the order, both overt and occult, in the movements of the celestial spheres, with which we sense ourselves secretly involved. Perhaps it is because we feel so small before the starry universe: like a straw tossed into the ‘great sea of being,’ we feel ourselves confronted with destiny…” So begins Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo in his introduction to the new book “The Heavens Proclaim: … Continue reading →
Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial? (An excerpt from the Introduction)
Article (blog post) with video- 800 words with 1.25 hour video
- General audiences
This post by Bob Trembly on The Catholic Astronomer blog features an excerpt from the Introduction to the book, Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial? … and Other Questions from the Astronomers’ In-box at the Vatican Observatory, by Br. Guy Consolmagno, S. J., and Fr. Paul Mueller, S. J., both of the Vatican Observatory. Within the post is a video of a 2014 talk of the same title, given by Br. Guy at Leeds Trinity University.
Click here for a preview of Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial from Google Books.
Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial? The Colbert Report
- Video
- 6 minutes
- High school level and above
A short piece from The Colbert Report on Comedy Central in which Colbert constructs a caricature of thought regarding extra-terrestrial intelligence and then interviews Br. Guy Consolmagno, S. J., of the Vatican Observatory.
Get More: Comedy Central,Funny Videos,Funny TV Shows
Click here to go to the Comedy Central page with this video.
Talking science and God with Science Magazine
This link to an interview with Br. Guy Consolmagno explores some of the assumptions behind the question of baptism and Ets.
Continue reading →Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial? (An excerpt from the Introduction)
- Article (blog post) with video
- 800 words with 1.25 hour video
- General audiences
This post by Bob Trembly on The Catholic Astronomer blog features an excerpt from the Introduction to the book, Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial? … and Other Questions from the Astronomers’ In-box at the Vatican Observatory, by Br. Guy Consolmagno, S. J., and Fr. Paul Mueller, S. J., both of the Vatican Observatory. Within the post is a video of a 2014 talk of the same title, given by Br. Guy at Leeds Trinity University.
Click here for a preview of Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial from Google Books.
Approaching “Would you baptize an alien?” from the perspective of a Jesuit astronomer
- Article (PDF)
- 5300 words
- General public
In November 1995, Fr. Christopher Corbally, S. J., an astronomer with the Vatican Observatory, presented the annual Nash lecture at Campion College. This is the published text of the lecture.
[Download PDF]
Corbally_NASH_Lecture1995
Vatican space explorations
Article 1600 words General audiences A general overview of questions pertaining to space and the Vatican, from Our Sunday Visitor Newsweekly, 2009. Click here to access this article directly from Our Sunday Visitor. Vatican space explorations Study of astronomy reminds us of the beauty of the universe — and its Creator OSV Newsweekly Why does the starlit sky hold such a profound fascination for us? Perhaps because it is there that we encounter, commingled, the mystery of light and darkness — two primal experiences connected with the beginning and end of human life. Perhaps it comes from seeing the order, both overt and occult, in the movements of the celestial spheres, with which we sense ourselves secretly involved. Perhaps it is because we feel so small before the starry universe: like a straw tossed into the ‘great sea of being,’ we feel ourselves confronted with destiny…” So begins Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo in his introduction to the new book “The Heavens Proclaim: … Continue reading →
Across the Universe: The Ethics of Extraterrestrials
- Article (blog post)
- 650 words
- General Audience
A Tablet column (and now a post on The Catholic Astronomer blog) by Vatican Observatory astronomer Br. Guy Consolmagno, S. J., reviewing a discussion of ETs and aliens that was held during a meeting of astrobiologists at NASA Ames.
Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial? The Colbert Report
- Video
- 6 minutes
- High school level and above
A short piece from The Colbert Report on Comedy Central in which Colbert constructs a caricature of thought regarding extra-terrestrial intelligence and then interviews Br. Guy Consolmagno, S. J., of the Vatican Observatory.
Get More: Comedy Central,Funny Videos,Funny TV Shows
Click here to go to the Comedy Central page with this video.
The Evolution of Intelligent Life on Earth and Possibly Elsewhere: Reflections from a Religious Tradition
- Article (PDF)
- 12 pages
- Academic / University and higher level
Fr. George V. Coyne, S. J., Director of the Vatican Observatory from 1978 to 2006, writes that given the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligences, “theologians must accept a serious responsibility to rethink some fundamental realities within the context of religious belief. What is the human being? Could Jesus Christ, fully a human being, exist on more than one planet at more than one time?”
A version of this article appeared in Many Worlds: The New Universe, Extraterrestrial Life, and the Theological Implications (Templeton, 2000).
[Download PDF]
ETs_Templet_Dick